After a fickle start, Williams improved her powerful forehand
game and eventually turned a 1-3 lag into a 4-3 lead and eventually
won the first set.

Williams, aged 33, started to fully use her body height of 1.85
meters as an advantage over Pannetta who measures 1.72 meters.

Although Pannetta, aged 31, scored under Dubai's sunny sky some
spectacular points against Williams and managed to turn a 4-5 lag
into a tie-break, the Italian player eventually lost the match,
mostly due to many mistakes she did and due to her overall weak
first service.

The match lasted nearly two hours and marked the longest battle
for Venus Williams so far at this year's Dubai Open.

The semi-finals will take plays on Friday, February 21. The
women's final will be on Saturday, February 22. Enditem